After the USS Titan appeared at the Azure Nebula, the Aventine crew was introduced to former Earth Starfleet Captain Erika Hernandez. Helkara was assigned to escort Hernandez around the Aventine, including down to Main Engineering to meet Chief EngineerMikaela Leishman. En route, they passed various security officers preparing to board and capture a Borg scout, and found their confidence curious. Helkara attempted to explain the technical workings of the TR-116 rifle, but little of it made sense to Hernandez. Down in Engineering, Helkara introduced Erika to Leishman, and agreed to speak to Captain Dax and request that Erika personally pilot the craft when they began their assault.

Once they had arrived at the Borg vessel and disabled its weapons and engines, Helkara activated the dampening field; he lowered it once the appropriate signal was detected - pulses of plasma emitted from the craft in a Fibonacci sequence. With the scout craft believed secure, Helkara, Leishman, and Hernandez beamed aboard to hook Erika to the craft's vinculum. Their progress was slow, and Helkara argued against Hernandez's suggestion to remove the feedback buffer, but Dax overruled him. Hernandez was able to connect to the Collective and temporarily take over, but the Borg Queen transferred her presence to the vessel and reestablished dominance. Utilizing the craft, the Queen attacked the remaining officers, but Hernandez was able to counter the vessel's attacks and get Leishman, Helkara, and Kedair out safely. (ST - Destinynovel: Lost Souls)